Page 68 of Dead Mountain

“Who might have killed him?”

Watts shook his head. “The hit appears to be professional, single shot to the back of the neck with a .22 no less, silencer used, no fingerprints or other evidence. You know how everyone now has video camera doorbells looking out onto the street? The State Police collected lots of it—nothing. The killer avoided all that—we’re not sure how, but it shows a level of sophistication beyond the ordinary.”

“Strange,” Corrie said.

“But there’s a twist. Cheape had recently put a down payment on—and taken delivery of—a hundred-thousand-dollar Tesla.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In cash.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yeah.”

“His bank statements?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. He was a frugal guy, divorced, two kids grown up and gone, bank accounts showing no unusual expenses or deposits. No record of money flowing through it to buy the Tesla.”

“How much was the Tesla deposit?” Corrie asked as their breakfasts arrived—eggs, bacon, and toast for him, omelet for her.

“Ten grand. Cheape had no money in the bank to pay the rest of the ninety thousand when the car was delivered. So we think he had at least a hundred grand in cash stowed away somewhere.”

“Was he robbed?”

Watts gave her a slow smile. “At first we thought the house was tossed as a cover, because a lot of valuable stuff was left behind. But this Tesla thing leads us to think the cash was taken. Because it’s not there now.”

“Any idea where the cash came from?”

“We’re looking. Cheape’s life looks dirt-free. No drugs, debts, gambling, women, family conflicts, disputes—no speeding or parking tickets even.”

“So maybe it wasn’t an execution-style killing? Maybe it was just a robbery and murder?”

“Maybe. But where did the cash come from? And how did the thieves know he had it? That’s what we’re working on now.”

Corrie fell silent, feeling vaguely disappointed. This was seeming less and less connected to Kirtland or the Dead Mountain case. It felt like Sharp had been right after all: the murder of Cheape was not an FBI matter.

“Thanks for sharing this with me,” Corrie said.

“I’ve got more. I did a little poking around on the Dead Mountain families,” said Watts. “Did you know that the missing victim’s father, Harry O’Connell, also worked at Kirtland?”

“How did I miss that? What kind of work did he do?”

“I don’t know. I was going through some old Albuquerque Journal articles about Dead Mountain, and there it was—Harry O’Connell, the father of one of the missing, lieutenant colonel, retired, Kirtland AFB.”

“Too bad he’s deceased,” said Corrie. “His widow is a piece of work. Melody Ann, the stepmother who never met her stepson. She’ll never talk to me, unfortunately—thinks we’re engaged in a cover-up.”

“The one raising hell about the investigation? I saw her on the news.”

“Don’t I know it. She disrupted the press conference the other day with demands for the truth. She’s gone down the rabbit hole, big time.” She paused. “I’m surprised we didn’t already know about the missing victim’s dad being in the military.”

“It’s probably written on some tiny note, buried in fifteen-year-old paperwork.”

Just another fact Gold had probably turned up, but that hadn’t led anywhere. “Even so, it makes me curious. I’ll see what I can find on my end—but would you mind looking into the O’Connell family from a local angle?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. I owe you one, Homer. I really do.”

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